


A Tale of Space Cake

by imagymnasia



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, HUNK NEEDS ALL THE FRIENDS, Lance (Voltron) Being Lance, Light-Hearted, also hunk and allura being pals because THEY NEED TO BE PALS OKAY, and the usual paladin antics, cake boss - Freeform, hunk being a boss, implied shallura, space cake!, this is mostly just the paladins chilling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-02-09
Packaged: 2018-09-23 01:57:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9635837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagymnasia/pseuds/imagymnasia
Summary: Hunk's got a surprise for the Castle of Lions gang-- one the Alteans aren't too sure about.





	

When Hunk insisted they all meet in the kitchen, _immediately_ , Shiro wasn’t sure what to expect. Oh, he wasn’t suspicious, really—anything Hunk achieved regarding the culinary arts was sure to delight. The kid had a gift, and Shiro was more than willing to encourage it. Cooking seemed to soothe Hunk in ways that nothing else could, and Shiro liked seeing him so content.

Not to mention that meant less space goo for everyone else, including himself. (The smell of Coran’s Special Paladin Lunch™ still haunted him. That was a memory he’d gladly forget.)

When Shiro arrived, pushing through the swinging double doors, the rest of the Castle’s crew was already there. Pidge leaned against one of the storage units, her face buried in one of the castle’s data pads. Keith stood next to her, looking an impossible mix of bored and intrigued. Shiro didn’t know how he managed that, but Keith was Keith; he’d learned not to question it. Allura and Coran were also there, chatting quietly on the other side of the room.

Lance, perched on one of the counters and kicking his feet with unspent energy, sighed heavily when Shiro entered. “ _Finally_ ,” he drawled, his head rolling back onto his shoulders as his whole body slumped with his impatience. “It’s about time, Shiro.”

“I came as soon as I got the message,” Shiro replied, his tone even. He didn’t have to defend himself to Lance, and the blue paladin was just being overdramatic. Again. Instead of rising to Lance’s bait, he turned to Hunk.

The boy was standing in front of three covered trays, his hands clasped behind his back as he beamed at them. He was even rocking back and forth on his toes, something Shiro hadn’t seen him do before. He _must_ be excited.

“So, what did you want to show us?” Shiro asked.

“Yeah, Hunk, spit it out already!” Lance agreed. His feet stopped kicking as he leaned forward. “What’s the big surprise? Did you find some way to make space goo taste like cotton candy or something?”

“I thought you said cotton was used as a material for Earth clothing?” Coran mused.

“Cotton candy is- it’s not _actually_ cotton.” Not surprising, it was Pidge who jumped in to explain. “It’s spun sugar, and it’s usually dyed bright colors. It just looks like cotton in its natural form--“

“Yeah yeah it’s delicious now _what’s the surprise, I’m dying here.”_

“Okay,” said Hunk, whose wide face could barely contain his grin, “I wanted to surprise you all at dinner, but honestly I couldn’t wait to share this. You guys are gonna go _nuts._ ” The yellow paladin turned, scooping up one of the trays and offering it to them. “Check _this_ out.” He removed the domed lid with a flourish and waited.

He didn’t have to wait long; the chorus of _oohs_ and _aahs_ from the paladins was instantaneous.

Lance slid off the counter, his expression awestruck and giddy. “Dude. Is that—?”

“Chocolate?” Shiro finished. Chocolate cake, if his eyes weren’t lying. And they were tiny, small enough to fit in his hand, layered with chocolate frosting and garnished with some sort of berry Hunk must have found off-ship. Briefly, Shiro wondered if his eyes were as wide as Lance’s. “How in the world…?”

Pidge was grinning ear to ear, her pad forgotten, and even Keith was leaning forward with interest, his lips quirked in the closest thing he had to a smile.

 “Hunk, you mad kitchen genius!” Blue threw his arms around Yellow, laughing. “Where’d you find this?” 

“I didn’t find it, I made it,” Hunk chuckled, patting Lance on the back with one large hand. “It’s not actual chocolate—cacao is strangely hard to come by in space—but it’s close enough your taste buds won’t know the difference. I’ve been playing with different ingredients _forever_ , but I couldn’t ever get the taste quite right. Until today.” He beamed at them all.

“Hunk, I think I love you,” Pidge said, her hand reaching for the tray. Then she hesitated. “Can we…?”

“Um, _yeah_ ,” Hunk laughed. “I didn’t make them to be stared at. Dig in!” Well, twist her arm. With a cackle, Pidge swiped three of the cakes and settled herself by the storage unit to enjoy the spoils. The rest of the team took that as their cue to crowd around, and Hunk handed the tray to Shiro while he pulled the lids off the other two.

“I actually tried a few different kinds,” he explained. “See, I didn’t know what everyone’s preferences, so I made dark and white chocolate cakes, too. Well, sort of white chocolate—it’s more vanilla than _chocolate_ , but— _hey, Lance!”_

“Whab?” Somehow, Lance had managed to fit three in his mouth at once and was already reaching for a fourth. “Oo seb we coulb!”*

“Save some for the rest of us, idiot,” Keith grumbled, pushing past the blue paladin to pluck one of the dark chocolate cakes from its tray. He must have jostled Lance enough to make him gasp, or else Lance’s gluttony had gotten the better of him, because the boy started to wheeze.

“Alright, easy, I gotcha—“ Hunk pounded him on the back until Lance could breathe again. Lance murmured thanks, then rounded on Keith.

“You did that on purpose!”

“I didn’t tell you to stuff your mouth with so many sweets it blocked your airway,” Keith growled back.

“Guys, cool it,” Shiro groaned. “Keith, watch yourself. Lance, stop being a pig.”

Both of them looked offended and Lance opened his mouth to argue, but Shiro was already ignoring them. Instead he turned to the two Alteans. Neither of them had made a move toward the cakes; Shiro thought perhaps they were being polite, or maybe just avoiding Lance, but they were just as entitled to Hunk’s creations as the paladins. With a soft smile, he offered them the tray.

“Here, try one.” Coran and Allura shared a look, and Shiro’s smile wavered. “What?”

“Seriously, they’re _really_ good,” Pidge added, waving one of hers around.

“Thanks, Pidge.” Hunk ruffled her hair (eliciting an indignant squawk from the green paladin), then joined Shiro. “What’s up, guys? You usually like my cooking.”

The two of them shared another look; then, Allura smiled, trying to look as gracious and diplomatic as possible. “I’m sure they’re lovely, Hunk. It’s just…”

“Did you not have chocolate on Altea?” Shiro asked. Because he could understand the hesitation to try strange things.

Allura shook her head. “Never heard of it!” Coran declared. “It’s a sort of dessert, then?”

“Only the best kind,” said Keith. That earned him a stunned look from the rest of the gang, but Keith shrugged. “What? So I like chocolate cake. What’s the big deal?”

“Oh man, Keith, I never would have pegged you for a chocoholic!” Hunk laughed.

“I’m _not_ a chocoholic!”

“Dude,” Lance countered, “you’ve had more than _me._ And I’ve already had five.”

Pidge gasped. “Lance! _”_

 _“_ What? Be mad at Keith! I just said he’s had more than me!”

“I have not!”

Shiro sighed. He couldn’t deal with this right now. He _wouldn’t_ deal with this right now.

So he ignored them completely.

“Will you at least try one, Princess?” he asked.

Allura looked uncomfortable for a moment. She tried again. “They… they sort of look like… dirt.”

“Or worse!” Coran chimed. Allura flushed and shot him a look, but the advisor didn’t seem to notice.

“Oh it’s _way_ better than dirt!” Lance crowed. He sidled up to the princess with a cake, wiggling his eyebrows. “Come on. Just a bite? One sweet for the sweet Altean lady?”

“Here.” Before Lance could make even _more_ of a nuisance of himself (or Allura threw him into a wall), Shiro placed one of the white chocolate cakes in her hands. “Try this one. Less dirt-looking.”

“I-I don’t know…”

“Oh come on!” Pidge grumbled. “We eat your food goo all the time!”

“Well…” Allura eyed the cake warily. She picked it up with two dainty fingers, turning it in the light. Beside her, Coran leaned over the tray in Shiro’s hands, eyeing the cakes suspiciously. “Hunk _did_ go to all the trouble.”

Allura took a bite.

And promptly choked on it.

“Princess, are you alright?”

“So—sweet—“

“Well,” Hunk said, scratching the back of his head, “it’s _supposed_ to be…” The statement was more apology than fact. Shiro sighed inwardly; only Hunk would apologize for making something taste the way it was supposed to.

The black paladin moved to one of the storage units, retrieving a glass. Then he filled it with water at the faucet and handed it to Allura. “Here.”

“Th-thank you.” She gulped it down with less grace than she usually showed. Then she smiled sadly at the yellow paladin. “I’m sorry, Hunk. I’m afraid it’s just not to my taste.”

“I don’t think it’s so bad,” Coran said. He chewed his own cake thoughtfully. “Rather like the sponge cakes of the Milosians, I think.”

“That’s alright, Princess,” said Hunk. “Not everyone on Earth likes chocolate, either.” Of course, that didn’t mean he was ready to admit defeat, either. “Did you want to try one of the dark chocolate ones? They’re _way_ less sweet than the whites. You might like it better?”

Allura blanched. “I-I really don’t think I—“

“ _Please?_ ”

Shiro watched her face as Allura mulled it over. Clearly this meant a lot to Hunk, and she knew it. And he’d never known Allura to back down from a challenge.

It was unsurprising, then, when she held out her hand, palm up. “Alright,” she said, her face breaking into a smile. “Hit me with your best shot.”

Hunk mirrored her grin, setting one of the dark chocolate cakes in her hand. “You won’t be disappointed.”

“I’m certain I won’t be.” She was still hesitant under all that bravado, but Allura brought the cake to her lips and took a tiny, cautious bite. She chewed slowly, letting the taste linger on her tongue for a moment, and then swallowed. And took another bite. And another.

And something in Allura changed. Shiro watched it happen before his very eyes: her ears tilted upwards, and her face relaxed, even flushed delicately.

“Oh.”

The princess smiled.

“Oh that’s _lovely._ ”

Hunk pumped his fist in the air, finally triumphant. “ _Yes!_ I _knew_ I could win you over!”

Shiro chuckled. “I’m glad you found something you like, Princess,” he said.

“So am I,” she said, her voice soft and pleased, almost a coo. “I’m afraid I misjudged your Earth chocolate. It’s _wonderful._ ”

“You just had to find something to suit your palate,” Hunk said. “I’m glad you like them.”

Allura beamed at him. “I _love_ them,” she said. “Thank you for sharing your talents with us.”

Hunk blushed at that. “Aw gee, thanks. I mean you’re welcome. I just like making people happy, and what better way to do that than with food?”

“ _So._ ” That was Lance, worming his way back into Allura’s personal space. Shiro groaned. Would he never stop? “I guess you’ve a preference for dark chocolate.”

“I… suppose,” Allura conceded. She eyed him warily, and Shiro couldn’t blame her. Even he didn’t know where Lance was going with this.

“That’s interesting,” said Lance. “Providence, even. Because you know what else is dark?” He waggled his brows at her, then pulled out his trademark Finger Guns. _Pow_. “Me.”

Shiro groaned again. “ _Lance._ ”

“Hunk’s darker than you are,” Keith said.

“No one asked you, Keith!” Lance snapped. “You’re just jealous ‘cause you’re pale as death from being such a shut-in!”

“I lived in the _desert,_ moron. I got plenty of sun.”

“And yet you still look like you’ve been living underground. Would it kill you to get some sun? Wait, no, I’ve got it! You’re a vampire aren’t you? Yeah, a little sunlight and you _burst into flames._ I guess that explains the lion.”

“I’ve been in the sun plenty of times, idiot!”

“Guys. _GUYS!”_ Pidge’s yelling hit ultrasonic pitch, and the fight came to a screeching halt. “Shut up for a second and think. You’re going about this all wrong.”

Red and Blue locked eyes, confused.

“We…”

“…are?”

“Of course. Listen.” Pidge leaned forward, a teacher lecturing her students. She adjusted her glasses, took a breath, and continued. “What’s the darkest thing you can think of?”

“Uh…” Lance scratched his head. “Dark…ness?”

Keith thought for a moment. “The void of space?”

“Black,” Hunk answered. “It’s the darkest color. Okay, technically not a color but--”

“Right, well, we’ll ignore the technicality for now,” said Pidge. “And _who_ do we know that we associate with that color?”

Suddenly, Shiro didn’t like where this was going. Four sets of young eyes settled on him: Keith’s appraising, Lance in shock, Hunk giddy, and Pidge? Those eyes were the eyes of a demon. And she was out for his soul.

Shiro swallowed hard. “Guys, I don’t think—“

“If the princess likes her chocolate dark,” Lance said, slow as Shiro had ever heard him while he puzzled through whatever was happening in his young cadet brain, “does that mean she likes her men even-“

“ _LANCE._ ” Shiro felt his face growing hotter by the second, the warmth spreading across his cheekbones and across the tips of his ears.

“The princess is right here,” Allura added primly, “and she does not appreciate being talked about in such a manner.”

Hunk was the first to give in. “Okay, okay,” he said, laughing. “Sorry Allura, Shiro. Just a bit of fun.”

“Yeah,” Pidge said, and she gave Shiro a look that sent a shiver down his spine. “Just fun.” Keith grunted an affirmative, but the Shiro thought it was unconvincing, even having come from Keith.

Lance seemed to still be processing, but he was quiet, and that was what mattered for now.

Then the quiet was broken, as quickly as it had come. Hunk rounded on Coran so fast that the Altean advisor startled and shied away. “Okay, Coran, your turn!”

“Oh, no thank you, Hunk, I think I’m quite satisfied with—“

“No no, Allura tried and now you gotta,” said Lance. Must have smelled blood in the water, because he was grinning like a shark.

“But they look like tavorian mole droppings!”

“Hey! My cakes do not look like poop! Figuratively or literally!”

“Yeah, Coran, these are works of _art!_ Delicious, sugar-coated art!”

Shiro chuckled, content to let someone else play target to their laser focus for a change.

 

When they’d all had their fill of cakes (Shiro was probably going to regret this later, both for his own stomach’s sake and for the crash he knew was coming, and knowing how much sugar his charges had ingested and dreading what chaos would come from it later), Hunk began to clean up the kitchen. The room had an automatic was system, but the yellow paladin enjoyed the easy labor. Always had. Like cooking, it was relaxing. So Hunk gathered the dishes at the sink while the others filtered out, and it was only a matter of moments before the platters were cleaned and stowed.

When he turned around, he found Allura had stayed behind, propped on her seat and watching him carefully. Hunk felt his ears go red.

“Something you need, Princess?”

“Oh! No.” Allura sat up, pulled from her thoughts. “I was just enjoying the moment.” She stood and stretched, her face in perfect peace. He’d never seen her look so serene; not even when they’d discovered her in the cryopod. “It’s not often we have a moment to… savor things.”

He smiled back. “That just makes those moments more special, I guess.”

“Agreed,” she said. And then Allura did something very surprising: she wrapped her arms around him.

“U-u-um, Allura—“

“Thank you.” Her words stopped him dead. They sounded so sincere, so deep and full of her, that he nearly stopped breathing. “Not just for the cakes. For looking after everyone, making us smile. Keeping up our spirits.” She drew back enough to meet his eyes, and Hunk stared back, confused and more than a little enamored. “You’re a valuable piece of this team, Hunk. Don’t let anyone tell you different.”

“I—“ Hunk didn’t know what to say to that. He blinked back tears he hadn’t felt coming and cleared his throat. “Thank you. That… That means a lot, coming from you.”

Allura smiled back at him, releasing him from the hug. “Just promise me you won’t forget.”

“I won’t,” said Hunk, and he sealed his promise with a smile as big as the galaxy. “I promise.”

“Good. And Hunk?” said Allura.

“Yeah?”

She dropped her eyes, worrying her lip with her teeth as her cheeks turned pink. “Do you think you could make those again tomorrow?”

**Author's Note:**

> *”What? You said we could!” Just in case anyone needs a Lance-talking-while-horking-down-sweets-like-a-dying-man translation. :D
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! If you liked, please leave kudos and comments. I LOVE feedback.


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